Purdue University Northwest faculty senate calls for Chancellor Thomas Keon's resignation after he mocked Asian accents during commencement
The Purdue University Northwest faculty senate is calling for Chancellor Thomas Keon's resignation after he mocked Asian accents during the morning commencement for the university’s College of Business and College of Nursing on December 10th.
According to reports, the Purdue University Northwest faculty senate voted unanimously to demand that the Chancellor resign.
"His offensive statements at commencement, on Saturday, December 10, 2022, insulted the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, including faculty, staff and students at Purdue Northwest," the senate wrote in an open letter. "His inexcusable behavior caused national and international outrage. His behavior does not reflect the diversity and inclusiveness that Purdue faculty, staff and students value."
If Keon doesn’t resign by today (Monday, 12/19), the faculty senate is planning a no-confidence vote.
The Purdue University Northwest chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has also released a statement condemning Keon’s actions. “Though Chancellor Keon, in response to the widespread criticism he has received, has insisted that he “did not intend to be hurtful,” this suggests, at best, a highly troublesome level of ignorance, insensitivity, and lack of judgement on his part. But it is more than any personal racism by one particular university official; it suggests the all-but-complete ignorance of the institutionalized racism faced by Asians and other peoples of color in this country,” the statement read. “As disturbing, as this latest incident is, it is unfortunately not an isolated one. The Keon administration has long been subjected to criticism for its heavily top-down, non-inclusive approach to university governance, an approach which is characterized by a disregard for the concerns of faculty, students, and staff, as well as an insensitivity to diverse cultures within the PNW community.”
AAUP’s statement then points out the lack of diversity in Keon’s administration. “In the Keon administration, the seven-person “Senior Leadership Team” consists only of white people, which does not adequately reflect the diversity of our students, faculty or staff. While Chancellor Keon frequently talks about diversity and inclusion, he fails to implement these values at the top level of administrative university governance, an area under his total control.
In an increasingly diverse world, in which sensitivity to people from a variety of cultures is crucial for success, the time has come for Chancellor Keon to resign, or else to be removed by the Purdue University Board of Trustees, so that a leader better attuned to what it takes to engage multiple constituencies with respect–not ridicule–can be found,” AAUP’s statement concludes.
The video (seen below) of Keon mocking Asian accents has since gone viral.
